Christmas in the North Festival

16 December 2010

 

 

Therese Chan:

“Totally Awesome!” That’s what I think when it comes to being a part of the Christmas in the North Festival. I got to have some fun at the game stalls, and I felt Super Wacko was the coolest because it was very fun trying to hit people on the head.

 

Guess time flies when you are having fun . . . because before I knew it, it was 5pm already and the performances started. I enjoyed Pastor Casey's Hip Hop Exercise and Pastor Mong Yee's "White Christmas". When we finally went up on stage, I was very excited and I couldn't wait to begin! After all, we had practised for over a month for this evening! I hope that through the dance, we could reach out to the people there and help them to come to know Jesus.

 

Later, when our performance was over, I felt exhilarated about the fact that I had helped to show God's love to the community and that we had triumphed over stage fright and had done an excellent job, according to some members of the audience.  It felt good knowing that I was doing something that would bless the Yishun community.  

 

Gaylonda Martin:

Evangel Family Church really defined what it really means to share the blessedness of Christmas.  As we develop the knowledge of Christ, it is important to not only be followers of Christ, but we must also activate His message and purpose.  The Word of God clearly states that to win souls to Christ we must be wise.  It is important to know that our teaching on Wisdom Ways gives all of us directions on how to serve others.  Saying all of that, the festival was a day of planting seeds to know Christ and the love He shared with those who really did not know Him.  Jesus fed thousands who followed Him just for the food and the events of miracles.  However, the physical needs were met now and we strive to reach the spiritual needs as one continues to seek for the True Answer who is Jesus. Evangel Church is certainly a church that touches the lives of families of all people.  Many hearts were touched and many hearts were made glad during the events as some won prizes, as people listened to the entertainment, and other watched the activities.  Congratulations on a great job!

 

Chew Wei Wei:

“Really? Free?” Many of them exclaimed with a surprised look on their faces. But they were obviously happy! And more came forward to participate in the activities of both food and games. It was such an amazing sight having the community - multi generations, multi races, multinationals, enjoying a great time together. For a moment, we had no differences - we are all just human.

 

No doubt our only intention was to bless the community, but I felt blessed by them in the end. Their genuine smile on their faces was one of the greatest returns one could ever receive! Thank God!

 

Jason Ho:

It is the Christmas Festive Season again. As usual, Evangelites anticipated the many programs that were lined up for the season. But the most interesting event this year would be Christmas in the North Festival.  Days before the events, the children and teens were already busy preparing for the dance items, and also different regions were trying to cook or hunt for some good snacks for the day.

The day came, and the place was set up with a big tentage and gazebos all around the Nee Soon East Park. Colorful balloons decorated the entire place, transforming the place into a Carnival.

The weather was hot throughout the day. Dark clouds in the afternoon did threaten to bring a heavy downpour, but was miraculously blown away and the hot sun continued to shine through the afternoon.

The guests arrived at 3pm and were entreated to different types of food and games.  There were various food stalls like fried fritters, drinks, ice creams, popcorns, cotton candies, hot dogs, fish balls and desserts.  There were various games stores such as Splat, Shoot Out, Super Wacko, and Fun Dunk.  The games were so attractive that you can even see old folks queuing and participating in the Super Wacko. The children love the Fun Dunk and the Super Wacko most as this two queue is the longest.

While waiting for the arrival of our guest of honour, Associate Professor Mr Ho Peng Kee, we tried sampling as many snacks as possible.  It was a blessing to us when we heard the announcement that we can go for extra servings. As for me, a few bowls of good dessert really eased off the heat.
Finally, our guest of honour arrived, and we were able to move to the big tentage for the second part of the program that really boosted the Christmas atmosphere.  The loudest cheers from the crowds went to Pastor Casey and his exercise team that emphasize on good workout regardless of language, religion and age.

Next, the children dance item was truly fantastic. The music, the steps and the coordination were really good. The song was well expressed through the actions. The youth also did a very good job in their dance item too.  It really shows their strength in the thing that they are doing with lots of enthusiasm and effort put in there. Both of the youth and children’s dance items required a lot of effort to be put into the thinking process to come up with such good steps.

The song item from the Gaylonda Martin from USA brought a Christmas mood to the whole thing. At the end, the residents of Yishun were blessed further with a gift to take home from the draw. This Christmas In The North Festival has really set the stage for a wonderful Christmas to come.

Ivy Tan:

The festival was a fun-filled one. These are some lasting moments I enjoyed while participating @ the festival. I very much like seeing the interesting characters (some were “alien” to me) making their appearance and mingling among the people. They sure added colours to the event and were especially popular with the children. Associate Professor Ho’s message reminded all to love and honour our parents. It was so heart-warming to see our community friends winning their individual “special draw” at the coupon-distributing counter. More importantly, EFC had extended their blessings and love through their generous giving to the Yishun Community. I also greatly enjoyed the performances on stage! Pastor Mong Yee, you sang well again! In addition, through participating as a team, I had also acquired a new skill in balloons decor. I had always been curious how they could transform the balloons into a “flower.” Together, we learned from each other. It was so fun. I thanked God for Evangel’s initiatives to touch the Community in Yishun. I would imagine God’s smile at the Festival.

 

Clinton Shi:

Seeing so many church members, ranging from the TKK children to adults, gathering together to help set up the entire carnival was indeed an enriching process. Although it took many hours of hard work pumping up the balloons, tying them up into clusters and flower patterns, coupled with the arduous task of setting up the game and food stalls, the end result was definitely worth the effort. As the crowd started to pour in towards the coupon collection counter, and subsequently streamed towards the various food and game stalls, cheers and laughter soon filled the air. The mood of the carnival was contagious, colourful, and captivating.

 

What touched me the most was how happy the residents and their children were upon receiving the prizes from the draw and game stalls. Be it scooting away in their new BMXs, showcasing their new iPods, or sharing a new Nerf gun with friends, the amount of joy portrayed on the faces of the children left a deep impression in my heart.

 

At the end of the day, feelings of joy and festive celebrations during the Festival transcends beyond the materialistic realm. Through Christmas in the North Festival, we managed to share a little blessing and Christmas cheer with the community, and moved a step closer towards connecting our community to the cross.